Hydrohistorian
Dry and parched earth in the badlands of South Dakota
Library of Congress · 1936 · Arthur Rothstein, for the Resettlement Administration
Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, FSA/OWI Collection, LC-USF34-004380-D No known restrictions on publication. Archive record ↗ · Rights
Source Archival record · verify at Library of Congress ↗
Probably the most reproduced drought photograph ever made, and the one that started an argument about whether a documentary photograph is evidence. Rothstein shot the skull on several grounds that spring; newspapers accused him of carrying it, and he said he had moved it a few feet.
Shows: What a dry year looks like when someone is composing a picture of it.
What this does not let you conclude: A measurement of anything, and -- by the photographer's own account -- not quite an untouched scene either. Our drought pages rank a district's river against a century of the same calendar week; that is the kind of claim a number can carry and a photograph cannot. May 1936.
Placed on
- Topic drought · hero
The archive’s record page
The archive’s record did not answer our check on 2026-10-12 (refused automated check, HTTP 403). Our copy above is unaffected; the credit stands. A person will look.